A live-fire military training exercise will close Tanguisson Beach in Dededo on Jan. 13 and 15.

A Marine Corps unit is conducting a realistic urban training exercise, or RUTEX, on the island from Jan. 6 to 16 in preparation for its deployment to the Asia Pacific region later this year, according to the military.

The bi-annual exercise will be held at South Finegayan Housing and near the Tanguisson Power Plant in Dededo.

Residents in Dededo and Harmon who live in the general vicinity of the housing area and power plant can expect to notice an increase in military activities in the area.

Exercises will include live-fire sniper shots using simulated munitions, which are essentially paintball rounds. Trainees will all be using flash bangs, or loud grenades that don’t produce any fragmentation.

Aircraft also will be seen flying overhead, including Black Hawk helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Around 80 Marines from Okinawa will be part of the exercise, including site controllers who will set up the exercise, said Maj. Breck Perry, operations officer for the training group.

The training sites were chosen off-base so Marines could operate in a “real-life” scenario, Perry said.

The expeditionary unit works as a special operations Marine task force trained in various capabilities, such as precision shooting, both as snipers and in close-quarters combat, he said.

The unit’s skill sets are comparable to special operations units who work in hostile environments to respond to threats, Perry said.

“We’re trying to enhance their capabilities through training,” he said.

Guam Police Department spokesman Officer Paul Tapao said the police department plans to work with Guam Homeland Security and Office of Civil Defense to ensure the public is fully aware of the exercise.

Since August, planners for the exercise have coordinated with local agencies and officials to ensure safety and minimize the impact to the community, a press release states.

Tapao said he does not anticipate any disturbance in traffic flow or any other disruptions within the community.

“We want to ensure the community that they will see little to no effect in their daily lives,” Tapao said.